G.fast chipmaker Sckipio and mobile data/voice company  FreedomPop were among the startups that are benefiting from Intel Capital's decision to invest $22 million in ten technology companies. 

Sckipio has been focused on silicon that powers modems and other gear that support G.fast, an emerging standard that brings gigabit capabilities to DSL networks. Ramat Gan, Israel-based Sckipio noted that it showed 1 Gbps running at 300 meters using G.fast technology. How much Intel Capital put into Sckipio was not released, but the startup noted that it represents its third round of funding and that it previously has raised $27 million from venture capital firms Amiti Ventures, Aviv Ventures, Genesis Partners, Gemini Israel Ventures and Pitango Venture Capital.

FreedomPop said the new strategic funding will help it to expand is smartphone lineup, noting that Intel Capital’s backing will help to fund a 2016 commercial launch of a "WiFi first" smartphone that will prefer WiFi connectivity and fallback to cellular when WiFi is not available. That device, FreedomPop said, will use Intel’s new SoFIA mobile chipset to  help users seamlessly switch to and from WiFi and cellular networks. “The smartphone will be available in multiple markets, with launch details to be announced at a later date.” FreedomPop said.

Intel made the funding announcement at the Intel Capital Global Summit in San Diego.  The VC expects to invest more than $500 million in technology companies this year, up from $359 million in 2014.

Here’s a roundup of other Intel Capital investments announced today:

-LISNR: The Cincinnati-based creator of Smart Tones, a new communication protocol that sends data over audio using a high-frequency, inaudible technology.

-what3words:  A London-based developer of an addressing platform that, it claims, allows people to find and communicate a location more accurately than GPS or postcodes.

-Body Labs: A New York-based startup that collects, digitizes and organizes all of the data and information related to human body shape, pose and motion.

-Microprogram Information:  A Taiwan-based Internet of Things startup that makes “turnkey” hardware and software solutions and backend information management services for rental bicycles, taxi fleets, and mobile point-of-sale systems.

-Perfant Technology: Beijing, China-based developer of imaging and video technologies for artificial intelligence, machine vision, 3-D reconstruction and virtual reality.

-Chargifi: London-based startup focused on the development of a wireless charging network that would span coffee shops to hotels, restaurants, offices and airports.

-KMLabs: Boulder, Colo.-based maker of  compact laser systems for research and industrial applications.

-Prieto Battery: Fort Collins, Colo.-based 3-D advanced battery provider focused on commercializing a patented Lithium-ion battery technology.

Proving that investors are willing to place bets on the potential of G.fast, an emerging standard that will bring 1-Gig capabilities to DSL networks, ahead of widespread deployments, chipmaker Sckipio announced Monday that it has raised a $17 million “B” round.

Following the B round, led by Israel-based Petango Venture Capital, Sckipio has raised $27 million since its founding in 2012. Existing investors Gemini Israel Ventures, Genesis Partners, Amiti Ventures and Aviv Ventures also participated in Sckipio’s B round.

The investment announcement comes just days after the ITU awarded final approval to the G.fast standard, which aims to deliver aggregate (downstream plus upstream) 1 Gbps capabilities to DSL over relatively short loop lengths, enabling some telcos to compete more closely with cable’s DOCSIS 3.0 and coming DOCSIS 3.1 platforms while also deferring costly fiber-to-the-home deployments.

Sckipio, which counts Broadcom among its competitors, has already introduced G.fast chips for network and CPE equipment, and has at least ten design wins, including deals with Lantiq, VTech, XAVi and Zinwell.

On the service provider side, Sckipio will be involved in at least five lab trials with tier-1 service providers this year, a group that includes U.S.-based companies, according to Michael Weissman, Sckipio’s vice president of marketing.

“This is a worldwide opportunity. The pressure we have from service providers is overwhelming,” he said, noting that DSL service providers continue to face performance pressure from cable operators and will need a technology like G.fast to handle bandwidth-intensive services like 4K video.

Weissman won’t predict when Sckipio will achieve profitability, but said he expects the company to begin volume shipments next year, possibly by mid-2015. He said multiple-dwelling unit environments served by DSL around the world are seeing the most pressing need for G.fast.

Among major vendors, Alcatel-Lucent recently introduced a G.fast optical network terminal that will launch in the first quarter of 2015, and claims to have run about a dozen of operator trials, including tests with A1 Telekom Austria, BT and Orange.

G.fast requires a noise-cancellation technology called vectoring, which is already in use today by operators that have deployed VDSL. KPN of the Netherlands, Swisscom, BT, Belgacom, Deutsche Telekom, A1, and AT&T and CenturyLink Communications are among telcos that have implemented vectoring.

While analysts see the potential value of G.fast, they have also expressed that it’s too early to say if the technology will be adopted on a massive basis or if it will be used more surgically in areas where telcos are feeling the most competitive heat from cable operators and other broadband rivals.